Nevermore »

Kelly Creagh is a 2008 graduate of Spalding University’s MFA in Creative Writing program. She works for the Louisville Free Public Library, specializing in teen services. When not writing, haunting bookstore coffee shops, or obsessively studying Poe, Kelly's passions include the ancient art of bellydance. She lives with her squirrely, attitude-infused terrier, Annabel, in the heart of Old Louisville, Kentucky’s largest and spookiest Victorian neighborhood. Visit her at KellyCreagh.com.

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted - nevermore!

— from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.

Publishers Weekly

Isobel and Varen come from opposite ends of the high school social order: Isobel is a popular, blond cheerleader; Varen is a goth loner. Paired for a project on Edgar Allen Poe, their bare tolerance for each other turns to grudging respect after Isobel dumps her possessive, violent boyfriend. But as she spends more time with Varen and learns about the life and works of Poe, gruesome creatures start to stalk and threaten her. Poe's horror stories originated from his trips into the realm of dreams, and Varen's own dreams and writings have led him there, too. Now Varen is being held prisoner, and only Isobel can rescue him from his nightmares and keep the supernatural creatures from overrunning the real world. Though the characters eventually grow beyond clichés, the romantic chemistry is faint, and the storyline often shrinks behind the book's infatuation with Poe. But first-time novelist Creagh effectively builds tension, and those with an interest in the literary figure will savor allusions to his oeuvre and mysterious death. Varen's plight is left unresolved, presumably to be continued in later books. Ages 14 up. (Aug.)